Heather's books

Sarah's Key
Room
Rainwater
The Help
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The Lightning Thief
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The Notebook
Eat, Pray, Love
The Time Traveler's Wife
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone


Heather's favorite books »

Friday, March 29, 2013

First E-book of 2013


Worth The Weight (The Worth, #1)



Worth the Weight

By: Mara Jacobs

Genre: chick lit

Pages: 360

Published: 2012

Read: March

2 out of 5 stars

Another Chick Lit book – I think I need a vacation from this genre.  Like most of them, the story is extremely predictable and a fast read.  Even with a few twists and turns, there is never a moment of surprise. However, the characters are very likeable. While the story definitely addresses some issues with weight loss and struggles, it’s more about seduction and deceiving until of course, the happily ever after ending.  This book is a self-published e-book and that fact is very noticeable. There are numerous spelling and grammatical errors throughout the novel.  If Chick Lit is a favorite genre and you can overcome spelling errors, this will be a pleasant read for you.  Otherwise, I would bypass this novel. Unless I’m at a complete loss for a book to read (which will never happen), I will probably never read the rest of the trilogy. The next two books are titled Worth the Drive and Worth the Fall.

 

Mara’s website is www.marajacobs.com

Monday, March 18, 2013

My first book giveaway win of 2013

Another Piece of My Heart


Another Piece of My Heart

By: Jane Green

Genre: chick lit

Pages: 386

Published: 2012

Read: March

2 out of 5 stars

I read to escape my life. I want the story to take me outside my world, whether good or bad.  This book did not do that for me.  A new marriage, angry stepchildren and a whiny stepmom doesn’t make for an escape for me. The 42 year old stepmom acts more childish than the 18 year old stepdaughter throughout the book.  I also felt Green makes the 13 year old very naïve as if she is several years younger.  I disliked all the characters for one reason or another.  Green’s novels with the 20 year protagonists were much more entertaining. I feel Green tried to grow up in this novel and failed miserable along with her characters.  As most chick lit novels, this one is very predictable but not even entertaining along the way.

Ironically, Jane Green's novel, Jemina J, was one of the novels that I believe most influenced my life. She definitely understand's the 20 year old females versus the 40 year olds.

Her website is www.janegreen.com

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

What book(s) have influenced me?


I just finished reading Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Yes, for the first time.  I never had to read it in school, but to be honest the reason I finally got around to reading it was because my daughter has to read it for school.  I had a perceived notion of this book. I never heard anyone say “The book was OK”. It was either “This book is great” or “That book sucked”.  Over the years, I also saw/heard people; especially celebrities state that Catcher in the Rye was the most influential book they read. Now after reading it myself – I can’t help but think “So you don’t want to do anything or go anywhere in your life because that was Holden’s true desire”.  His dream job was to stop children from falling off cliffs. Come on!!
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines influence as “the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways: sway”.  This could mean in a bad or good way, however when someone asks what influences you or who has had the most influence on you I believe this means in a good way. SO I ask – How has Holden Caulfield influenced you??  If someone ever tells me their most influential novel was Catcher in the Rye, I WILL ask them why. Honestly, I would love to hear their response. Don’t get me wrong, as stated in my review, I did enjoy the book but it hasn’t affected my life in any way, shape, or form. I thought it was an OK, enjoyable book, but I’m on to my next book.

 To answer the question: What book most influenced your life? I feel one should look at the books they have read and see which books had them change their lifestyle, caused them to have an epiphany, opened their eyes to a cause, or even just that they reference back to time after time. So maybe for these people who name Catcher in the Rye; it’s because it is the only book they have read (probably forced upon them) and they feel they have to give an answer.  Otherwise, I want to know the reason!

So what books have influenced me?  I feel there have been several self-help and non-fiction books that have helped or shaped me in some way throughout the years, but let’s stick to fiction novels. I will admit my answers are silly and no one else would probably answer the same way, BUT I have my reason; which is all I’m asking for.

Are you there God, it’s me Margaret?  by Judy Blume
            I read this book SEVERAL times as a child. I believe one of the reasons it influenced me was because of the timing in which I read it.  It’s a coming-of-age story about a 12 year old girl getting her period, wanting boobs and bras.  I was probably 9 when I read it the first time and it was like a secret world to me. I wanted the secret club. I wanted the boys – their cooties were finally getting cured. Basically, I wanted what Margaret had! This book has stuck with me through the years and I actually practiced “We must, we must, we must increase our busts” with a girlfriend. I recommend this book to all girls from 3rd to 6th grade. Judy Blume wrote an adult novel called Summer Sisters, which I also loved because of my fond memories of Are you there God, It’s me Margaret?  Summer Sisters does not have the same profound memories for me, but was a great book and I can’t help to think of the novel being the story of Margaret and her friends all grown up. If you haven’t read either of these two books, I highly recommend you do.

Jemina J: A Novel about Ugly Duckings and Swans by Jane Green

            This book is even a sillier choice – yes even to me! But it did cause me to change my life. Goodreads.com summarizes this novel as “Jemima J is the chronicle of one woman's quest to become the woman she's always wanted to be, learning along the way a host of lessons about attraction, addiction, the meaning of true love, and, ultimately, who she really is”.  Honestly, that is what it did to me. My personal issues of weight, addiction, love, etc. weren’t as extreme as Jemina J’s, but they did exist. I think a major factor for a book to influence your life is the time and place you ARE in when you read it.  I read Jemina J: A Novel about Ugly Duckings and Swans at that moment for me. I was very unhappy with my weight and was finding love in ALL the wrong places.  Life isn’t about being the skinniest, happiest, most successfully and beautiful person you know. It’s about loving yourself and being happy with whom you are in that moment.  This novel made me WANT to change.  I started walking every day, which caused my body to regulate itself (I was having several issues), eating better, and all-in-all change my life style. I plan on going back and reading this book again VERY soon. Even if it doesn’t influence you the way it did me, I’m sure every female will enjoy Jemina J’s story.

I would love to hear what books INFLUENCED YOU. Feel free to comment please.

First Classic: Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye
Catcher in the Rye

By: J.D. Salinger

Genre: classic

Pages: 277

Published: 1945

Read: March

3 out of 5 stars

Holden Caulfield is a pompous, selfish, whiny jerk who has no ambition whatsoever. He is critical of everyone, but himself and likes absolutely nothing.  This book is funny at times and aggravating at other times.  I feel that Holden has ADHD before it was a diagnostic illness.  His mind jumps from topic to topic, often repetitive and annoying.  However, that is what makes the book enjoyable and I believe exactly what the novel was meant to be.  The only person he seems to care about besides himself is his sister, Phoebe, and he isn’t that nice to her.  What I don’t understand is how this novel can be considered the most influential book to anyone (see the above blog entry). I kept expecting Holden to have an epiphany, so that the readers could actually claim to have this book influence them in anyway. With that said, I did enjoy the book – for what it is – entertaining. I thought the story was catchy and funny, but Holden did not influence me at all – I don’t want to be person hater, life hater and go nowhere in my life. Do you?

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Favorite Book of 2013 thus far!


The Light Between Oceans

The Light Between Oceans
By: M.L. Stedman

Genre: fiction

Pages: 343

Published: 2012

Read: February/March

4.5 out of 5 stars

This book is sure to evoke a lot emotion in any reader.  As any crime stories there are all different perspectives of the situation taking place.  Stedman’s novel is no exception.  The characters are so well developed that the reader will fall right into the plot.  Readers may have more compassion towards Isabel, the woman who is unable to bear children, Tom, Isabel’s husband, who wants to only make his wife happy but has to jeopardize his job in order to do so, Hannah, the birth mother of Lucy/Grace, or even Gwen, the aunt who only wants the best for her niece.  Either way, you will side with one of them and carry the emotion throughout the novel.  Although the emotion got the better of me (I sobbed at the end), the story was pretty predictable hence the slightly lower than perfect rating.

This is M.L. Stedman's first novel and she does not have a personal website.